spice
/spʌɪs
/noun
1An aromatic or pungent vegetable substance used to flavour food, e.g. cloves, pepper, or cumin: the cake is packed with spices [mass noun]: sift together flour, baking powder, and mixed spice...
- Nutmeg, pepper, caraway seeds, ground ginger and the curry spices of cumin and coriander are also worth considering.
- There is no part of the world that is not home to a variety of spices; cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, nigella, sesame, anise, the list is endless.
- For this, mustard seeds and fresh green chillies are imperative, and the warming spices of cumin, coriander, and turmeric are standard.
Synonyms
flavouring, seasoning, herb;
condiment, relish
1.1 [mass noun] An element providing interest and excitement: healthy rivalry adds spice to the game...
- The police officer is an interesting character and adds spice to the investigations.
- Believe me, the usage of missiles and countermeasures adds a lot of spice to the game.
- There are some variants that we have found add more spice / interest.
Synonyms
excitement, interest, colour, piquancy, spiciness, zest, savour, tang, sharpness, saltiness;
bite, edge
informal zip, zing, zap, punch, kick
literary salt
2 [mass noun] A russet or ginger colour.Replace summer shimmery pink and peaches with creamier, more satiny lip finishes - with a hint of shine-in soft shades of spice, bronze and taupe.
3 [mass noun] Northern English Sweets; confectionery.
verb [with object] (often as adjective spiced)
1Flavour with spice: turbot with a spiced sauce...
- Many are spiced, or flavoured with lemon zest, and further embellished with nuts and dried or candied fruit.
- However, the curry was rich and flavourful, pungently spiced, with the medium heat level towards the upper reaches of my spice tolerance.
- I recommend spiced apricot sauce to serve with chicken.
1.1Make more interesting or exciting: she was probably adding details to spice up the story...
- While Jack uses the sale to clear end of line stock etc, there are always a lot of interesting items from regular stock to spice up the event.
- This particular tabloid saw fit to urge readers to spice up their Sunday by studying something other than football and racing form; naked exploitation in the most explicit manner.
- Sexy jazz vocals spice up transitions from one fantasy to the next tryst, and sometimes the characters mouth the words, fantasizing that they're singers, to great effect.
Synonyms
liven up, make more exciting, enliven, revitalize, vitalize, perk up, put some/new life into, put some spark into, ginger up, stir up, get going, galvanize, electrify, add some zest to, give a boost to, add some colour to
informal pep up, jazz up, buck up, hot up, zhoosh (up)
Origin
Middle English: shortening of Old French espice, from Latin species 'sort, kind', in late Latin 'wares'.